IB/ AP/ CC+ Classes

Taking rigorous classes while in high school is one of the best ways students can prepare themselves for college. At WKHS we have lots of options available for students to do this most notably honors classes along with IB, AP and CC+ courses. Through these classes, students have the opportunities to push themselves and have the potential to earn college credits while in high school by taking AP, IB and CC+ classes.

One of the top factors colleges consider when evaluating applicants is the strength of the academic schedule students take on during high school.  (And, of course, that students do well in those classes.) One of the options students can consider for selecting a rigorous academic schedule that also has the benefit of providing students with a global perspective and integrated learning to make connections across courses, is the International Baccalaureate (IB) program.

Students who are interested in completing the full IB diploma program will have specific IB courses to take along with completing the IB exams, an extended essay, and a community action service project along with a Theory of Knowledge course. Even if students are not sure that they want to take on the full diploma program, you can still participate in IB courses! You can take just a handful of classes (or even just 1) if that is what appeals to you. For example, students interested in Psychology or History might elect to take just the IB Psychology course or just the IB History course.  

As an IB World School, our students have the opportunity to participate in a rigorous group of classes to push themselves to learn and grow. Students who are in the IB program are among the first to talk about how much they have enjoyed the program and the small cohort of students they study with in the program. If you have questions about IB, I definitely encourage you to talk with students in the IB program or to Mrs. Goodwin who is the IB program coordinator. And, of course, you can always talk to me too.

Students must pay to take the IB exams and, depending on the level of the class, how well you performed on the test, and the college you are attending, you may be able to earn college credit for the course. It is helpful in your planning to be aware that some colleges will not grant credit for individual SL classes - only Higher Level (HL) courses.

Advanced Placement (AP) classes are offered in a wide range of subject areas from core subjects like English and Science to the arts such as AP Studio Art and AP Music Theory.  These classes are designed to fulfill the college course content and the teachers are following the curriculum requirements to prepare students for the AP exam at the end of the year.  

Students must pay to take the AP exam and, depending on how you do on it and the policy of your intended college, you can earn college credit for the class.

College Credit Plus (CC+) is another rigorous option for students. The difference in a CC+ class is that students are earning the credit for the work completed across the semester instead of relying on a test at the end of the year.

It is important to realize that while CC+ is set up to be free to students, if you fail the class then you are responsible for paying for the class. Additionally, whatever grade you earn in your CC+ class that grade is on your college transcript. So, in comparison, for IB and AP classes, the grade you earn in the class doesn't have any bearing on your college transcript - you either earn the credit or not through the exams, with CC+ it is starting your college GPA. For example, if you decide to complete your Associate's Degree at CSCC and then transfer to OSU, that college GPA is going to impact your potential to be considered for particular majors or scholarships.

CC+ also requires more independent learning and follow through of students than traditional high school classes. You are moving through a full year's worth of content in a semester and you will be doing much of the work on your own time since the classes only meet 2 days per week. Students who need frequent reminders are likely not ideal candidates for CC+ classes.

There are advantages and disadvantages of all 3 rigorous course opportunities. The best news is that there isn't a bad decision about which classes to take - so think about yourself and your own areas of interest and decide what you think feels best for you.

Remember, all colleges get to set their own policies for what classes they will give students college credit for completing and what the qualifying score for AP and IB exams must be in order to earn that credit.  You can usually find th

Teacher Recommendations

One aspect of the registration process that can sometimes cause confusion for students related to selecting their classes is how to deal with teacher recommendations.

Last week, your teachers reviewed the different classes offered within their departments and made suggestions about the courses they would recommend you to take next year.  Some of the core and foreign language teachers submitted their recommendations for what class they would suggest for you to take directly into Infinite Campus.

If you don't agree with what a teacher has recommended, you are not locked into that course. For example, we know that there are MANY students who will be recommended for LOTS of honors or AP or IB classes and not want to take all of them. This is completely appropriate and acceptable... in fact, I would say that I absolutely WANT you to prioritize and schedule a balanced load that meets your interests and goals for the future. (And your teachers and administrators want that for you too!)

The first place we suggest you start is by talking with your teacher about their recommendation and the course you would prefer to take. Since your teachers know your learning style and approach they will have important and valuable information for you and your parents to take into consideration when selecting classes. I encourage you to carefully take their recommendations into consideration - especially if they are suggesting you take an "easier" course than the one you were previously considering.

However, we also know that some students may not feel comfortable telling a teacher they want to take a different class than what the teacher was recommending. I am anticipating this could be the case if a teacher is suggesting their elective or core course and you wanted a different one and don't want to hurt the teachers feelings. I get it, but I will also remind you that your teachers should not be pressuring you into anything! This is YOUR future and YOU are the one who will be in the class and doing the work next year! So, know that I am more than happy and willing to talk to you about what courses you would like to change and make adjustments for you. If you and your parents have decided that it is not in your best interest to take a class that your teacher has recommended and you want an easier or comparable course, then we will easily fix this during our individual meeting next week.

If you have decided that you want a more difficult course than what was recommended by your teacher then you must complete the Course Override form (on the Counselor website) in order for us to change that in your schedule. Before you decide to go with a more difficult course than has been recommended, please be VERY careful in thinking through all of the possible implications of doing that because your teacher's are recommending based upon what they know about your learning AND what they know about the classes. They want to make sure that you are being recommended for classes that will help you to be successful in the future.

Financial Literacy

One of the graduation requirements is for all students to complete a Financial Literacy Course.  There are a lot of different classes that can fulfill that requirement, but this tends to make the requirement a bit confusing.

Economics and Financial Literacy - this class is a Social Studies elective course that will give you a SS elective credit and meet the financial literacy requirement.

Personal Financial Management - this class is a Business elective course that will give students an elective credit and fulfill the financial literacy requirement.

Independent Living - this is one of the Family & Consumer Science classes and it will give you an elective credit and fulfill the financial literacy requirement.

Financial Algebra - this is a year long math class that meets the financial literacy requirements while also giving you a math credit.

The cool thing about all of these classes is that they are all covering the same financial literacy standards, but the additional content and approach in the classes are different so that you can select the course which appeals most to you.

We get one more snow/ cold day tomorrow! Enjoy it and start transitioning your sleep schedule back to "school times" if you got yourself flipped around this week.

Time Commitment & Balance

Yesterday I talked about how many classes you need. And I didn't remind you that there is also the opposite side of scheduling where students want to take ALL the classes and fill their schedules up with too many difficult classes compared to what they can actually manage successfully. After all, it is really easy right now (especially when we are in the midst of multiple back-to-back snow days) to think "Oh I can manage to do it all, it will be fine." But then when you're in the midst of actually doing it you can feel like you are drowning.

So, when you are considering which classes you want to take it is really important to try to find a balance. You want to challenge yourself with courses that will push you and help prepare you for the future. At the same time you want to remember that it is high school and you need to be reasonable about your expectations for yourself. There is a balance that should be sought - between too many "easy" classes and too many "hard" classes. You know yourself best and what you can handle so while it may feel good to have every teacher recommend you for honors, AP, or IB classes it doesn't mean that it would be the ideal situation to load your schedule with 7 advanced classes. In the past I have even had students stop by proclaiming a plan to take 8 classes by skipping their lunch period.  I get it, there are a lot of incredible classes available at WKHS, but overloading your day and burning yourself out does nothing for your love of learning or your ability to successfully complete your classes.  I cannot stress enough how much I want you to think about the rest of your commitments.  

What sports, clubs, music groups, part-time jobs, and volunteer commitments do you have?  When will you have time to relax and breathe, spend time with your family and friends and, perhaps most importantly, still get a good night's sleep each night?

I understand this can be hard to figure out the balance because you aren't at next year yet to be able to imagine what your days will feel like, but the Kilbourne staff created a Time Commitment Planning Calendar which can help you gain insight into what your intended plan will really look like.  You can find it on the Kilbourne Counselor website - www.wkhscounselors.com.  A student helped by completing a sample calendar so that you can see what a completed one looks like and that is also on the Kilbourne Counselor website.  I strongly encourage you to consider 2 of your busiest weeks and fill out the calendar so that you can have a realistic perspective for what the classes you are considering would provide a good balance for you - being both rigorous (particularly in any area of passion) and reasonable.

Enjoy tomorrow's continued Snow/ Cold day!

How Many Classes?

As you continue thinking about your courses for next year (and any subsequent years), it is important to be sure that you are taking enough classes, but you also don't want to over-extend yourself.

For most 9th, 10th and 11th graders, you will be taking 6 classes. That would leave you with room for a lunch and an off period (prep or options or early release or late arrival).

For most seniors, if you are in good standing academically, you can drop to 5 classes. Why do we give you the flexibility to drop to 5 classes? Because the process of applying to college and applying for scholarships is time consuming and we want to be sure that you can give your best to your course work and also your future plans. It is important for seniors to remember that 5 classes is the minimum required to be considered a Full Time student. Being full time is important for a range of reasons - insurance, child support, good driver discounts, plus colleges definitely want to see you as a full time student. So you definitely won't go below the 5 minimum classes in any semester.

While 5 to 6 classes is the minimum per year, if students are behind on earning credits due to failing classes, then it may be necessary to plan on taking more classes during a semester or the year.

Also, when planning out your classes over the next year, be sure that you double check and make sure you'll be taking enough classes to be eligible to participate in athletics and other co-curricular activities.  (Remember, any school sponsored activity that involves competition requires you to be eligible. So this includes band, choir groups, Mock Trial, In the Know, etc.)  

In order to be eligible you must PASS at least 5 of the half credit courses each quarter. If you are signing up to take a Wellness for Life course or TOK, you need to remember that these classes are only worth .25 credits per semester so they do not count in the courses needed for co-curricular eligibility.

Enjoy having another day off tomorrow and please, stay warm!

Snow Day & Registration Reminder

I absolutely LOVE snow days! I think the snow is beautiful... from the comfort of my home. :-) And, actually, I think there is nothing more joyful as a kid (and adult for that matter) than the added bonus of an unexpected day off where you don't have anywhere to go, nothing that you have to do, and you have the freedom and flexibility to spend the day doing whatever fills you with joy.

What might that look like? Sleeping in. Reading. Making/ eating yummy food. Listening to music. Cleaning your room. Checking something off your "to-do" list that has been hanging over your head for too long, but you just haven't had time to do it. Participating in a hobby - making something, building something, creating something, coloring/ drawing, playing your instrument, etc. Watching a movie. Catching up on your favorite shows. Snuggling with your pets or teaching them a new trick. Playing in the snow. Shoveling the snow for your family or your neighbors. Drinking hot chocolate. Sitting under a blanket beside a fire.

I feel like the options are endless... and wow, when I read through the list I just wrote, all of that would be a pretty incredible way to fill your bonus day off.

Perhaps you're trying to be productive and check some things off your school to-do list. I have a few reminders there for you as well...

• Register for your classes for next school year! The online registration window is now open so there is no better time to hop online and select the classes you want to take next year.
• Seniors, many of you attended the Scholarship Senior Seminar on Thursday morning, this is a great time to start working on some of those scholarship applications.
• Complete your YouScience assessment. Or, if you already did it, spend some time exploring your strengths in the aptitude section and the potential career matches in the career section. If you haven't done the YouScience brain games yet or if you are ready to look more at your results, you can get there through HelloID.
• If you're planning to participate in CC+ next year, apply to your intended college.
• Juniors, sign up for your 1:1 meeting time with your counselor. (Invitations were sent to your email, but we have links to all of the counselor appointments on the Counselor website).

Even though we have a snow day, the time to schedule your classes for next year is still this week. So please be sure that you do focus on that at some point in this coming week. Remember, next week we will meet with every Freshman and Sophomore student and we will review all of your course requests and answer any of your questions too.

Enjoy your day off tomorrow. Please stay warm, safe, and try to do something that brings you joy in your bonus day off!

Earning Credit

This week a large part of my time has been trying to explain to students about how you earn credits in high school.  It is a valuable reminder for everyone.

High school is different than elementary and middle school.  In middle school, you take classes and each year you move on to the next grade and take all the classes for that grade.  In high school, you must earn credits for specified classes and the way you earn credit is by passing each semester of the class. 

So, for example, all students must earn 4 credits of English to graduate.  When you pass both semesters of English 1 during your freshman year, you move on to English 2 during your sophomore year.  If, unfortunately, you failed one of the semesters of English 1 then you are going to have to make that particular semester up before you can progress on to English 2.  Students who failed a semester will be able to make up the course either by repeating the class in summer school, repeating the class through credit recovery or repeating the class by retaking it during your sophomore year.  The bottom line is that you must REPEAT the class in some format.

Some classes (like English) have pre-requisites that students must meet in order to move on to the next level.  Other classes, like Science and Social Studies, do not have pre-requisites to move on to the next level so we will potentially allow you to move from Physical Science to Biology or from World History to US History without first repeating the freshman year class.  Don’t misunderstand though, you will still have to repeat the class at some point, but if you are not making it up during summer school, then you will likely be taking a freshman year class during your junior year.

In order to earn sophomore status, students must have earned at least 5 credits.  To become a junior you will need 10 credits.  To be classified as a senior, you must have earned at least 15 credits.

So, if you need to repeat a class, by far, most students will do that during summer school. Summer school